January 6: Israel/West Bank and Gaza

Ruling Palestinian militant movement Hamas announces it will double its armed force to 12,000 men. This increase is declared illegal by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who, as president, controls the security forces and has demanded that Hamas integrate its militia into existing security forces. The incident with armed forces augments the power struggle between President Abbas’s Fatah party and Hamas.

January 12: Iran/Iraq

U.S. troops raid an Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, seizing computers, papers, and six staff members believed to have compromised Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces The United States continues to accuse Iran of destabilizing Iraq and seeking nuclear arms, while Iran denies both charges. It further counters that U.S. military involvement in the Middle East endangers the whole region.

January 16: Iraq

UN envoy Gianni Magazzeni issues a report stating that in 2006: 34,452 civilians were killed in Iraq and more than 36,000 injured; 800 U.S. troops were killed; and violence in Iraq was at a record high, reaching 140 attacks daily. As a result of the violence, thousands of Iraqis are leaving the country each week.

January 21: Turkey

A prominent Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink is murdered in Istanbul by a Turkish teenager. Dink is known for challenging Turkey’s official version of the 1915 Armenian genocide, which denies the Armenian genocide. Dink was previously prosecuted under the country’s strict law against insulting Turkishness.

January 31: Iraq

Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, issues a report stating that millions of dollars in U.S. rebuilding funds have been squandered. For example, it noted that despite spending 23 percent of the funds on rebuilding electrical capacity, electricity production remains at the pre-war level. The report comes at a time when U.S. President George W. Bush is asking Congress to approve an additional $1.2 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction.

February 18 — Iraq

Three car-bomb explosions in predominantly Shia neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, kill more than sixty people and injure 131. The suicide bombings come two weeks after another suicide truck-bomb attack at a market in central Baghdad that killed 130 people and injured 305. The truck contained one ton of explosives.

February 22: Iran

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issues a report stating that Iran has not stopped enriching uranium and has even expanded its production in defiance of UN sanctions. It also says that Iran installed new centrifuges at the enrichment facility in Natanz and is building a heavy water reactor and heavy water production plant. Iran’s refusal to suspend its uranium production may lead to further UN sanctions against the country.

March 15: Palestinian Territories

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas endorses a long-awaited unity government, in which Hamas, the Fatah party, and minority factions will share power. Ismail Haniya of Hamas is designated prime minister. Palestinian leaders hope that the unity government will lead to an end of the international boycott of the Palestinian Authority imposed after Hamas came to power in 2006.

March 16: Iraq

Insurgents in Iraq detonate three trucks loaded with toxic chlorine gas bombs in the city of Falluja and near Ramadi, west of Baghdad, killing eight people and injuring hundreds. Six of the injured victims are U.S. troops. Chlorine gas causes severe burns to the throat and lungs, and can kill instantly.

March 25: Iran

The UN Security Council unanimously agrees to impose new sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program. The proposed sanctions expand the December 2006 sanctions, and include a ban on Iranian arms exports and a freeze on the assets of people and companies involved in Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution also proposes to end new loans for Iran. Iran has sixty days to comply with the resolution and suspend its controversial program.

March 28: Arab League/Israel

The Arab League appeals to Israel to accept the 2002 Arab Middle East peace plan, known as the Beirut Declaration, during its summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. According to the plan, Arab states would recognize Israel if Israel withdraws from all the Arab territories occupied since the 1967 war, accepts an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and allows the return of Palestinian refugees. Unlike in 2002, Israel agrees to consider the plan.

April 4: Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad frees fifteen Royal Navy sailors as a “gift” to the United Kingdom, ending a two-week standoff between the two countries. He also awards medals to the commanders who captured the crew. Iranian warships seized the British navy personnel in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians insist that the British patrol boat entered Iranian waters, but the UK says the group was within Iraqi boundaries

April 12: Iraq

A suicide bombing at the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone kills one Iraqi legislator and injures at least twenty people. This is the first explosion inside the Iraqi Parliament, one of the countries most rigorously guarded buildings. The bombing calls into question the effectiveness of the parliament’s security checks.

April 18: Iraq

Bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, kill more than 170 people in the worst day of violence since a U.S.-led security operation began in the capital in February. Intensified insurgent attacks are raising concerns about the Iraqi government’s ability to take full control of security in the country at the end of the year.

April 23: Iran

The European Union ministers agree to expand UN sanctions imposed on Iran after it refused to stop uranium enrichment. The sanctions include a total arms embargo and an expanded list of people who are banned from traveling to the member-countries of the European Union.

May 3: Syria

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem meet in Egypt to discuss the situation in Iraq. Both countries endorse a five-year International Compact for Iraq (ICI), according to which Iraq will implement reforms promoting national reconciliation and will receive financial assistance.

May 22: Iraq

A car bomb explodes on a crowded market in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing twenty-five people and wounding sixty. In other instances, twelve students are killed during two attacks on Baghdad University and Mustansiriyah University. The United States military in Iraq says it has killed nine suspected insurgents and freed twelve Iraqi hostages during a raid on a house in Baghdad.

May 30: Lebanon

The Lebanese government charges twenty people linked to the 11-day unrest in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp with terrorism and the deaths of many soldiers and civilians. They are also accused of being members of the radical Islamist group Fatah al-Islam. The unrest began in the camp after Lebanese security forces raided a building while searching for suspects in a bank robbery. Fatah al-Islam militants attacked Lebanese army posts in retaliation.

June 13: Iraq

Two bomb explosions in the Iraqi city of Samarra destroy the two minarets of the al-Askari shrine, a holy site of Shia Muslims. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki blames al Qaeda in Iraq and supporters of former president Saddam Hussein for the attack. Maliki also declares a curfew in Samarra and in Najaf, the site of another important Shia shrine. The al-Askari mosque is one of the four major Shia shrines in Iraq. Built in the tenth and eleventh centuries, it contains tombs of two of the twelve revered Shia imams. A day later, in retaliation, suspected Shia militants destroy three Sunni mosques near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

June 14: Palestinian Territories

After a week of fighting between two Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, in the Gaza Strip, Hamas seizes Fatah positions, including the headquarters of Fatah’s Preventative Security force and the presidential compound. As a result, Hamas takes full control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah remains in control of the West Bank. A day later, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dissolves the Hamas-led government and declares a state of emergency. He will rule by decree until early elections.

June 15: Palestinian Territories

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, an independent, prime minister and asks him to form an emergency government. However, Hamas’ Ismail Haniya says that he is still prime minister and the replacement is illegal. The international community gives its backing to President Abbas.

June 25: Iraq

A suicide bombing at a hotel in central Baghdad kills several senior Sunni tribal leaders from the western Anbar province. One of the leaders was a co-founder of the Anbar Salvation Council, which has worked closely with the U.S.-led coalition.

July 7: Iraq

A powerful truck bomb explodes at a busy marketplace in the northern Iraqi town of Amirli, killing 130 people and injuring 240. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki blames insurgents for the attack. Amirli is located in an ethnically diverse area of Iraq, and is home to a large Shia Turkmen community.

July 13: Iran

The United Nations’ nuclear supervisory body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reaches a deal with Iran to allow inspections at the country’s Arak heavy water plant and safeguards at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. The head of the IAEA, Mohammed El Baradei, says that these kinds of agreements could resolve the ongoing diplomatic crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.

July 20: Israel/Palestinian Territories

Israel releases 256 Palestinian prisoners to show its support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his emergency government operating from the West Bank. None of the released prisoners are from Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, Israel released the first installment of $117 million in tax funds that was withheld during a 17-month long boycott of the Palestinian Authority.

July 23: Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is re-elected for a second term after his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) wins parliamentary elections. Erdogan called the elections early after the secular parties blocked his choice of a former Islamist ally as the next president. The election demonstrates the tensions between Turkey’s secular establishment and the Islamic AK Party. Prime Minister Erdogan vows to continue reforms to join the European Union.

July 25: Libya

ibya and France sign agreements covering security, health care, immigration issues, and a nuclear energy project a day after Libya releases five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. The medics were accused of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV and sentenced to death. The deals are seen as a sign of normalization of relations between Libya and the European Union. The EU was deeply involved in negotiations to free the medics.

July 26: Iraq

Iraq’s neighbors, the United Nations, the United States, and the United Kingdom attend an international conference in Jordan focusing on the situation of two million Iraqi refugees. A final statement calls on the international community to provide all possible support to the Iraqi people. Fifty thousand Iraqis flee their country every month, mostly to Jordan and Syria, where they become a burden on these countries’ social services.

August 3: Libya

Libya signs a $405 million arms agreement with France to purchase anti-tank missiles and radio communications equipment. It is Libya’s first deal with a Western country since the European Union lifted its embargo on Libya in 2004. France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is accused of using the deal to secure the release of six Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya. In response to these accusations, France’s opposition leader calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the negotiations between the two countries.

August 5: Iran

Nicaragua and Iran sign a trade deal enhancing the relations between the two countries. According to the agreement, Nicaragua will export coffee, meat, and bananas to Iran. In return, Iran will finance the building of four hydroelectric plants, five milk processing plants, two piers in the port of Corinto, and 10,000 houses. The United States has warned Nicaragua that closer relations with Iran might harm its relations with the United States.

August 6: Iraq

Five Iraqi Sunni ministers announce their boycott of government meetings, which leaves the unity government without any Sunni representation, and further deepens Iraq’s political crisis. A week earlier, the country’s largest Sunni Arab bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, withdrew from the cabinet. So far this year, seventeen Sunni ministers have either boycotted or quit the government.

August 14: Iraq

In Iraq, a coordinated multiple bomb attack against the minority Yazidi community in the northwestern region kills at least 344 people and injures 400. About 600 people are left homeless. It is the single deadliest attack in Iraq since the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq in 2003.

August 15: Palestinian Territories

Japan gives the Palestinian Authority $20 million in aid and humanitarian assistance in order to boost economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Territories and revive the peace process. Earlier in the month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed an aid deal granting the Palestinian Authority $80 million to reform its security services and strengthen the Fatah leadership.

August 16: Israel

The United States signs a military aid agreement with Israel, providing Israel with $30 billion over the next 10 years. Israel is allowed to spend 26 percent of the aid money on military equipment from local companies. The rest, however, has to be spent on US arms. The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the aid will help preserve Israel’s military advantage among the countries in the Middle East.

August 24: Iraq

Mohammed Ali al-Hasani, the Shia governor of Iraq’s Muthana province, is killed by a roadside bomb. Earlier in the month, a roadside bomb killed the governor of a Diwaniya province, Khalil Jalil Hamza. Both men were members of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), a rival Shia organization to the Mahdi Army (MA) loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The killings highlight rising tensions among Shia political factions.

August 26: Iraq

British forces withdraw from an Iraqi base in Basra they shared with Iraqi police in a step to hand over the city of Basra to Iraqi forces. A small number of soldiers will stay in order to help train Iraqi police. In recent months, Great Britain has withdrawn hundreds of troops from Iraq, leaving a force of about 5,500 based mostly around Basra.

August 28: Turkey

Turkey’s parliament elects Abdullah Gul as the country’s new president after months of controversy over his candidacy. His political background as an Islamist politician sparked opposition from the country’s secularists, especially the army, who fear that he will undermine the country’s secular principles. Abdullah Gul, however, has pledged to respect democracy and the secular republic.

September 4: Iraq

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan Congressional oversight body, issues a report on progress in Iraq. The report finds that only three out of 18 political and military benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress have been fully met by the Iraqi government. It says that the Iraqi government’s performance has been poor, failing to fulfill key goals of reducing sectarian violence, passing laws on oil revenue sharing, and ensuring safe streets, clean water, electricity, and other basic necessities for their citizens. In the meantime, U.S. President George W. Bush strongly defends his Iraqi policy, saying there is evidence that the Iraqi government is beginning to work.

September 6: Israel/Syria

Syria’s air defense opens fire on Israeli warplanes and forces them out of the country after the planes entered Syrian airspace through the northern border and flew toward the eastern region. Israel’s military has not commented on the incident. The episode heightens the already tense relations between both countries.

September 11: Iraq

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, delivers a report to Congress on the progress of the U.S. military surge in Iraq. According to his report, sectarian violence has declined since the start of the surge, and the 30,000 surge troops could be withdrawn by mid-2008. However, his report also states that the situation in Iraq remains difficult. According to a survey for the BBC, ABC News, and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), 70 percent of the Iraqis polled believe that the surge has failed, hindering the conditions for political reconciliation and reconstruction.

September 19: Israel/Palestinian Territories

Israel declares the Gaza Strip an “enemy entity” and says it will cut back power and fuel supplies to the region in an effort to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israel. The statement enrages Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas since elections in 2006.

September 19: Lebanon

Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and Member of Parliament, Antoine Ghanim, is killed by a car bomb. The assassination comes a week before the Lebanese parliament is due to elect the country’s new president. Ghanim is the eighth anti-Syrian public figure to be killed in Lebanon in the last two and a half years. His assassination is condemned by world leaders.

October 10: Iraq

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that governors of eleven Iraqi provinces refuse to accept internally displaced Iraqis because of a lack of resources. According to the agency, there are up to 2.2 million internal refugees in Iraq. In addition, an estimated 2.2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries, most of them to Syria and Jordan.

October 17: Turkey/Iraq

Turkey’s parliament approves military cross-border incursions into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish PKK rebels. Turkey blames the PKK fighters for recent raids into Turkey, which left more than 40 Turkish soldiers and civilians dead. The PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, was formed in the 1970s and fights for greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish population. It is listed as a terrorist organization by many states, including the United States and the European Union.

October 29: Iraq

Karbala authorities take control of their mostly Shia province in central Iraq from the U.S. forces. It is the 18th province that has been transferred to local control. Meanwhile, a suicide bomber kills 27 people, mostly police recruits, at a police headquarters in Baquba, north of Baghdad.

November 5: Iraq

Five U.S. soldiers are killed by roadside bombs in the Iraqi provinces of Kirkuk and Anbar, bringing the number of U.S. troop casualties in 2007 to over 850. This makes 2007 the deadliest year for U.S. troops since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to the independent organization icasualties.org, to date 3,857 U.S. troops have been killed in the conflict.

November 27: Israel/Palestinian Territories/Middle East Peace Conference

The United States gathers more than fifty countries and international organizations at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, for a meeting intended to reopen peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis and build international support for a Palestinian state. The issues for discussion include sharing Jerusalem, borders, water, security, and the future of Palestinian refugees. In a joint statement, the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promise to make every effort to reach a full peace deal before the end of 2008. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and is not represented in Annapolis, holds protests denouncing the conference and President Abbas.

December 1: Turkey/Iraq

The Turkish army launches raids on rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Turkey believes that as many as 3,000 PKK fighters are based in Iraq, from where they periodically attack Turkish troops and civilians in southeastern Turkey.

December 3: Israel/Palestinian Territories

Israel releases 429 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle with Hamas. Most of the freed prisoners are supporters of Fatah, and are being sent to the West Bank. It is estimated that Israel still holds about 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons.

December 3: Iran

A new National Intelligence Estimate from the sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies reports that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 in response to international pressure. Iran welcomes the report and reiterates that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The report’s findings might make it more difficult for the United States and Europe to justify imposing further sanctions on Iran.

December 12: Israel/Palestinian Territories

Two weeks after the Annapolis agreements, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin the first meeting of the formal peace talks, which are supposed to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The talks are led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. The representatives will decide how future negotiations will be conducted. The Palestinian delegation is also expected to bring up Israel’s plan to build 300 new homes on occupied territories in East Jerusalem.

December 12: Lebanon

A car bomb kills the Lebanese army’s chief of operations, General Francois al-Hajj, another high profile victim of political assassinations that have plagued Lebanon in the last two years. Al-Hajj was expected to become the next army chief. The latest wave of terrorism is blamed on a political vacuum caused by the parliament’s failure to appoint a new president after former President Emile Lahoud left office on November 24.